Forbes Field Outfield Wall

Site of the famous Bill Mazerowski’s walk-​off home run, ending the 1960 World Series. This event is commemorated yearly here.

A slice of Pittsburgh history, and well worth the visit.
But besides the visit, you should also consider attending the ceremony that is held here each October 13^th at 1:05 pm to listen to a taped broadcast of the final game of the 1960 World Series. It’s a fun tradition, and it grows in popularity each year.

I love baseball and love the history of baseball. After visiting 16 stadiums so far, I decided I had to hit the wall up while visiting PNC Park. It was a great sight to see and I am so glad I took the time to do so.

Although not a Pirates fan, I saw many games at Forbes in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. I have been to this wall three times since, and to me it is much like a Rabbi visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem. It is my religion so to speak.
The last time I was there, I closed my eyes and remembered watching the 1966 Pirates play the Los Angeles Dodgers in a Saturday game early in the season. Little did I know it at the time, but it would be the second to the last time I would see the great Sandy Koufax pitch.
Koufax had his stuff that day and was on the verge of pitching a shutout when Roberto Clemente came up and popped one out of the park down the right field line to ruin it.
I can also remember it being a typical Dodgers’ offense with Maury Wills stealing a couple of bases.
I guess every baseball fan has to give this 5-​stars, because you really cannot say much negative about a brick wall. There is no service, and you cannot say the wall was off on the day you visited. Still, visiting this place is like visiting the ruins of Rome.
BTW, PNC Park is a gem, maybe the best of the new ballparks. This comes from a baseball fan, a sabermetrician, and a non-​Pirates fan.

If you are a baseball fan this is a must see. Make sure to go in the building across the street to see home plate. Follow the bricks along the sidewalk where the rest of the fence once stood Pittsburgh does not promote this hidden gem enough. No cost for this history lesson.

Ever since a very young age I’ve had a fascination with classic ballparks, maybe it goes back to a family trip through Chicago back in 1991 when old Comiskey Park was being torn down, such a maddening site. Later on that same trip we all wen’t to the National Baseball Hall of Fame while in NY.
In thier stadium exibits the stadium that captured my imagination the most was the long gone Forbes Field in Pittsburgh (demolished in 1970). I read and read and read about this place and it was considered the grandest stadium of it’s time. It certainly is the most charming one I’ve seen, and let me say this is the nicest area I’ve been to where a classic stadium was located.
Try strolling up to North St Louis, North Philadelphia, or the Bronx, ect, ect. It’s definetely a hair raising adventure, sorry to say that I’ve done it. Instead of those spotty, (I hate to say ghetto because they are Historic locations), this place was located in the affluent Oakland district of Pittsburgh which is also where the University of Pittsburgh is located.
On what is now part of the college campus is an old ivy covered brick wall that still stands from Forbes Field in it’s original location. There is that famous Pirates World Series win against the Yankees that happened from a home run being hit over the wall, which from looking at the field dimensions I’d say was pretty hard to do. Besides that though this is part of Forbes Field and is one of the nicest looking walls I’ve seen (wish freeway walls looked more like these).
This Wall is also adjacent to Schenley Park, a gorgeous space which actually has a baseball diamond in it, and at least when I was there you entered through a replica of the Forbes Field main gate (see photo). In this area is also a large English Garden looking fountain and an incredibly neat old College building with a Villa — like courtyard. That is where thier school of design is located. This is definetely a spot worth making a destination of when in this area.

Old Pittsburgh landmarks are dotted throughout the city, the Gate D marker for Three Rivers Stadium which stands next to Heinz Field, the «Kaufmann’s Clock which sits on Macy’s downtown, The outline of Fort Pitt at Point State Park. But nothing in my mind stands out more (especially for a baseball nut like me) than the left field wall that still stands in Oakland that was part of Forbes Field.
Think about it, this is where the ONLY walk off home run in a game seven of a world series happened. The great and much hated New York Yankees should have crushed the Pittsburgh Pirates so badly that the Bucs were supposed to wave the white flag after the first game. The Hall of Famer, Yogi Berra was standing right where I was standing. When the ball landed over the wall, the city went insane! Bill Mazeroski instantly became an Icon in the city, and baseball lure. The most famous home run in the history of Baseball happened right at this spot in Oakland.
Every anniversary of the Yankee Killing home run, groups of people gather and turn on a recording of the game and listen to every second of it. What a great tradition in the City of Champions!

This was a nice surprise, there is a good section of the wall left from Forbes field, the rest of of the wall is laid out in brick across the street and onto the sidewalk. There is the Mazeroski field behind the wall which is a little league diamond! The Wall that is left standing is about 12 feet tall, Center field 436 feet from home plate, Just shows you how the ball parks were different years ago.
There is a piece of the old stadium in the Hall of Fame (Cooperstown) at least it was last time I was there.
This is a must see if your in Pittsburgh!

This is the original brick outfield wall that made up center and left center fields of Forbes field. It is preserved with the original dimensions and ivy along with the flag pole.
The Pirates left Forbes Field in 1970 to move to the disgraceful Three Rivers Stadium, and the park was torn down a year later. All except for this wall of course.
It was over this wall that Bill Mazeroski hit his World Series winning home run. Every year on October 13, people gather at the site and listen to the radio broadcast of the home run.
A great, well preserved piece of baseball history. It’s located in the Oakland neighborhood on the grounds of the University of Pittsburgh. Posvar hall now stands on the location of home plate.